General Director of ADM and General Command of Guardia di Finanza visit to Tirana

The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Customs Administrations of Albania and Italy is signed

4th of April 2024

At the invitation of the Director General of Customs, Genti Gazheli, the Director General of the Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency, Roberto Alesse, and the General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Andrea De Gennaro, paid an official visit to Tirana. This is the first visit to the Albanian Customs by two high officials of the Italian Customs and Fiscal and at the same time the first visit abroad of the Director of the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency, Roberto Alesse.

During the joint meeting between the Heads of the Financial Institutions, it was discussed about the cooperation between the Customs Administrations of Italy and Albania, where the need for strengthening the trilateral relations between the Institutions was re-emphasized.

The Parties highlighted in particular the further increase of cross-border security, the fight against illegal trafficking, the compliance with the European Union standards of Customs procedures and the facilitation of trade exchanges between the two countries.

The Director General of the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency, Roberto Alesse, met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Ms. Belinda Balluku, and following that, together with General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Andrea De Gennaro were received by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ervin Mete.

The Director General of Italian Customs, Roberto Alesse, the General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Andrea De Gennaro, and the Director General of Albanian Customs, Gent Gazheli, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a Joint Italian-Albanian Customs Commission, as an instrument for strengthening the ties, trilateral cooperation and facilitating dialogue between Guardia di Finanza and the Customs Administrations of Italy and Albania.

In his speech, the General Director of Customs Genti Gazheli emphasized that "the activities of cooperation and assistance between the Parties will strengthen the security of the borders between the two countries, those will increase the revenues and the approach to the standards of Italy and the European Union for Customs procedures through cooperation in Customs intelligence operations with the primary purpose of facilitating the trade exchanges and the economic development".

The Director General of the Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency, Roberto Alesse, said that "I am very honoured to be here today together with the General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, General Andrea De Gennaro, my colleague, Genti Gazheli, and in the presence of Italian Ambassador, HE Mr. Fabrizio Bucci. I am also happy that thanks to the intensive work of our Customs Administrations and the Guardia di Finanza, we can sign a declaration which commits us to a new cooperation and that we sign this program of coordinated activities that will start from May 20, 2024".

The General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Andrea De Gennaro, said that "we are very happy to be here today and to sign this Joint Agreement, which is a commitment that will not only remain on paper, but it will be formalized and will have an impact in increasing our level of cooperation. Now, all of us are aware of the importance of the Agreement we are signing today. We are also aware of the proximity between our countries, and this is not only geographical”.

The Commission, which is co-chaired by the Director of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, Roberto Alesse, and the General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Andrea De Gennaro, and the Director of the Albanian Customs Administration, Gent Gazheli, will monitor the cooperation between the Customs Administrations of Italy and Albania and the undertaking of joint initiatives, such as:

a) promoting the cooperation and mutual exchange of information;

b) facilitating the communication and cooperation to combat smuggling, fraud and other illegal activities related to international trade;

c) development and implementation of joint programs to increase operational and technological capabilities;

d) promoting understanding and mutual respect for Customs regulations in force for participating countries and relevant international agreements.

The cooperation between the Albanian and Italian Authorities in the field of Customs takes a special importance, since Italy is Albania's main partner with a trade volume of about 3.5 billion EUR in 2023, of which about 1.73 billion EUR are exports and 1.77 billion EUR imports.